


It Happened Again

by WeirdItalianPlumber



Series: Filled Prompts [3]
Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 14:30:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15997142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdItalianPlumber/pseuds/WeirdItalianPlumber
Summary: Charlie and Dee hook-up again. They should probably acknowledge it this time.





	It Happened Again

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: "the second time they hook up and it's again kinda in the heat of the moment but it's also sad and a lil hearbreaking because the first time they could've passed it off as a fluke but now that it's happened again they both kinda know that it's gonna become an issue and they can't have that and dee tries to like force herself to break charlie's heart afterwards but he doesn't give up on her :'("
> 
> originally posted- 9/7/18
> 
> Sorry for the terrible title- I didn't even try.

Dee leans back into the couch. Breathing slowing returning to normal, post sex high quickly turning to regret. She had banged Charlie. Again. And it was good. Again.

It’s almost too reminiscent of the last time this happened. They were having a nice time, just the two of them. Things were so calm; no schemes or ulterior motives, just each other’s company. Then the air turned from light and carefree to heavy with tension.  

Goddamn, maybe it’s the couch. She’s just going to have to burn it. Maybe that’ll end this. Some twisted force draws them to it, like moths to light.

She shuts her eyes for a moment, willing this to go away. When she opens them, she can see Charlie to her left, silently watching. He looks fidgety. She can tell that he wants to say something but looks nervous.  "What?” She asks roughly.  

“You, uh.. you looked really pretty.”

_Oh._  She wasn’t expecting that. They had spent almost every night together the past week, usually at work, and had gotten along really well. But they hadn’t gone so far as to compliment each other.  

“Right,” she huffs in annoyance. She could anticipate different words, like hot or sexy. Normal things to call someone you just had sex with. But, pretty? She never gets called that, and it elicits a weird, fluttery feeling in her chest.  

Dee reaches on the floor for her shirt. She can feel his eyes on her, and she can’t tell if he’s checking her out, or waiting to see what’s next. She grabs it, and is about to pull it over her head when she realizes it’s not hers. The little reminder makes the situation worse.

She shoves the garment at him, and strides into her bedroom to find some clothes.When she emerges, she’s surprised to find Charlie sitting on the couch, fully dressed now, picking at a beer bottle.  

“Why are you still here?” She asks.

He shrugs. “Should we talk about it?”  

“There’s nothing to talk about, Charlie. I needed to get laid. You were here. It’s simple.”

“Right. Yeah,” he nods. He’s quiet for a moment and Dee can tell he wants to say more. He continues, unprompted this time. “It’s just, this keeps happening. Maybe it means something, you know?”

“It means-,” Dee starts, but she doesn’t know how to finish that thought. She doesn’t know what it means. If she even wants it to know.  

Dee rests her forehead in her fingers. “I can’t deal with this right now.”

“So, I guess I should go?” He asks  

Dee nods. It’s not like she was planning for him to spend the night anyway.  

———

It’s too early to be at the bar, Dee thinks, but it’s better than being at her apartment. She’ll hide out at Paddy’s for a while, away from that couch that brings back too many memories. She hadn’t slept much anyway, feeling strangely alone, interweaved with thoughts of regret and  _what ifs_.

She walks behind the bar, reaching for a beer. Dee’s just popped the cap off when she jumps at the door opening. Charlie walks in, freezing upon seeing her.  

“What are you doing here?” Dee asks. She had planned on being alone for a few hours. It seems Charlie was thinking the same thing.  

“I got some work to do in the basement. Before everyone got here.”

Dee nods stiffly.  

“Why are you here?” he asks.

She couldn’t be in her apartment, be around the tiny couch they somehow fit on together. Where their bodies worked in effortless synchronicity. And why should she drink her own beers when there’s free ones right here? Dee doesn’t answer the question.  

“How long are you going to avoid me?” Charlie presses, like he’s trying to pick a fight. Still no response. He starts towards the basement, but turns back towards her, saying in a softer tone, “You know, if you ever wanted to do it again. I’d be okay with it.”

The silence Dee had been fighting to hold lets go. “Goddammit, Charlie. Am I supposed to be flattered? That you’d  _be okay_  with banging me again?”

“No, I-”

“Or… Or is it that I’m such a giant whore you can just use me?”

“No,” he protests, “it’s not that.” Charlie glances at the floor then back up to Dee. He speaks slowly, carefully. “Doing that with you. It makes me feel good.” The look she gives him makes Charlie realize he said something wrong. “Not just my dick. But in my head, and my heart.”  

She’s not leaving or arguing, and Charlie takes the opportunity to continue. “I’m just saying, we could just… keep doing what we’re doing. It’s good, right? We’ll still be friends. Just ones who bang sometimes.”

_It could be really good_ , she thinks. Time alone with Charlie was becoming one of her favorite things. Ever since they agreed to be nice to each other. The other thing was good, too. The way he kissed back, with no hesitation or convincing. The way he breathed her name. She wonders if he’s thought about it as much as she has.  

She needs to shove it down, and talking to him is the opposite of that. Dee walks from behind the bar, moving from table to table, wiping them more precisely than normal. She’s ignoring him. Charlie follows, disregarding her standoffish body language.

“Jesus, Dee. Will you stop that,” he grabs her arm, exasperated, “I’m trying to have a conversation here.”

She remembers that feeling too well; is too familiar with how his warm hands felt on her bare skin. Those memories she’s trying to push down come flowing back.  _Charlie’s hands sliding up her back, fidgeting with her bra clasp. Pulling her legs tighter around him. Cupping her face with a tenderness she didn’t know he was capable of._

“Don’t touch me,” she snaps, yanking her arm away.  

“Did I do something wrong? I thought we had a good time. I mean you seemed into it.”

She finally looks at him, and it confirms exactly why she was avoiding it. He doesn’t look mad. He looks hurt. He looks confused.

“I’m sorry, okay? Can we just go back to normal?” His tone softens, but that manages to sting the most. “I don’t want to lose you.”

Dee looks around to make sure nobody can hear her, even though the bar is empty. He’s calm, and his lack of arguing is making her angry. They always say that they’re going to team up, too. Have their own version of The Dynamic Duo, but it never lasts. They sober up. Self- preservation always takes over.

“You know why we can’t do this, Charlie? You want to know why? Because it would never work. Whatever the fuck idea you have in that stupid head of yours, just stop it. The guys already give me enough shit, and I don’t need any reason for them to treat me worse. You’re so spineless around them that you’re going to take their side every goddamn time. You couldn’t even stand up for me if you wanted.” She jabs a finger at him, adding,  “ _Not_  that I need you to.”

She continues, the words coming out on their own.“They’re barely your friends, Charlie. The only reason they keep you around is you’re dumb enough to fall into their tricks. They only put up with you to use you for jobs that are too disgusting for any normal person. You can’t even read and always screw it up for the rest of us. You’re a liability.” Some of it hurts to say. She knows he feels almost as put out as she does. But it’s better to just stop whatever this is before it can start. It’s only going to hurt more when it inevitably fails.  

Dee inhales, and finishes her rant. “You can’t even get the waitress. Do you know how low you have to be if she’s too good for you? I know I’m not pretty and am a bird or a whore or whatever you want to call me. But I deserve better than whatever you think you can offer. I’m never going to want you.” She can feel tears burning at her eyes, but they’re not going to fall. She’s gotten good at not crying over the years.

Charlie stares at her for a moment, as if to patiently  _ask are you done?_ , then shakes his head.  "Nah. I don’t buy it.“

Charlie looks completely uneffected. He’s spent two decades obsessing over and stalking one woman. He’s been called the worst possible things by her. Yet, he hasn’t given up. He has some twisted, yet unbreakable, notion of love and romance. She recognizes that look in his eyes.  

There’s no way in hell Dee is going to let him go that extreme, but goddamn, if she doesn’t like the idea of being chased.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this set when Mac and Dennis were in the suburbs, but I don't think it really matters.


End file.
